News Archives:

• Spectre of tribal punishment haunts Swat
  Reports of the mass killing of Taliban are reminiscent of the Raj. Pakistan needs truth and reconciliation, not more US funding
• The actual perspective
  How the historic Swat eclipsed into the current tenor of violence...
• A doctor's (post-operation) visit to Matta
  It was eight pm – around a week ago – when we arrived at the gate of Tehsil Hospital Matta in district Swat – after a twelve hour journey from Peshawar and more than 37 full body searches by the army (in the 30 kilometres from Mingora to Matta). The minute we approached the hospital gate along with our cargo of medicines in the two trucks (a female doctor was also accompanying us), we saw a female patient with two young children that were pushed away by the armed soldiers on the pretext that the curfew had begun
• Taliban backlash haunts Swat locals
  Frightened civilians fear the Taliban will pounce again on Swat as residents try to rebuild shattered lives and shot nerves in the mountain valley once likened to Switzerland
• Taliban tactics
  The Army's gains in Swat are for real. Even those sceptical of Operation Rah-e-Rast agree. However, a minority that has supported the Taliban wonders what has happened to the force that once boasted it had the firepower and manpower to capture the heartlands of Pakistan. In the Swat Valley, that force is now more or less gone – shattered, ruined and greatly abhorred though certainly present in some pockets. What has gone wrong? Where did the self-styled champions of Nizam-e-Adl disappear in the face of the Army's onslaught?
• Sufi Mohammad and Pakistan
  For all practical considerations the Swat peace deal is dead. The Taliban refused to put down their weapons till after the implementation of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulations (NAR). When the government wanted to talk about Dar-ul-Qaza and Qazis, Sufi Mohammad became unavailable; he wanted a stop to the army action in Buner and Dir first. The ANP government went ahead with the setting up of Dar-ul-Qaza. Sufi Mohammad refused to accept the government's nominees. Army action became inevitable and another peace deal
• Swat at the mercy of militants
  It takes an hour and a half to get to Mardan from Islamabad, that is if one takes the M-1, and another two and a half hours to Mingora and Saidu Sharif, the capital of Swat
• Swat operation
  It is important for the sake of the Army's own morale that the present operation in Swat ends in a decisive victory, because the Taliban have been crowing about how they worsted the Army during the skirmishes that took place in February
• Have the Swat Taliban been routed?
  As expected, the armed forces have regained control of most of Buner and Lower Dir districts. In the Swat valley, the Taliban fighters were outflanked and forced to flee the principal town, Mingora, and other important population centres such as Matta, Khwazakhela, Bahrain, Kalam and Charbagh. The thin presence of the militants in Shangla and Upper Dir don't pose a major threat and could be contained
• Taliban -- asset or enemy?
  The military leadership is very serious, at least to the extent of the Malakand division, about eliminating militancy. Malakand has seen a lot of destruction and is going to see more. It is also clear now that the war will be a long and drawn-out one. The fact is that the problem of militancy will not be solved with the success of the Swat operation because what is happening in Swat and Dir is a part of a game being played in the region. And peace will not be achieved unless militancy is eliminated from the whole region
• Taliban influence in bureaucracy
  THE growing threat of violent extremism in different parts of Pakistan including Fata and Malakand Division is a matter of serious concern
• For the sake of 'justice'
  Minutes after the Pakistan National Assembly passed a resolution recommending that the president sign the deal with Taliban allies in Swat, Sufi Muhammad's spokesman said Pakistan's meaning had been fulfilled. Pakistan was created by Jinnah for the imposition of Shariat-e-Muhammadi, he said